


And I Willingly Paid Her Price

by sophe



Series: Warden Secrets -Short Stories [3]
Category: Dragon Age II
Genre: AU, Drabble, Ficlet, Gen, Major character death - Freeform, The Last Straw (what could have happened), Varric POV
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-02-16
Updated: 2014-02-16
Packaged: 2018-01-12 15:46:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,880
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1190736
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sophe/pseuds/sophe
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Anders and Justice were the responsibility of the Grey Wardens, and while the Order clamored for political clout and power they turned their backs to him.  One Grey Warden knew what she had to do.  Catte took responsibility for the actions and inactions of her brothers and sisters.  In doing so, she took on the burden of making one of those hard decisions.</p>
            </blockquote>





	And I Willingly Paid Her Price

**Author's Note:**

> After Catte's lecture to Elissa, I realized that Catte would spend the rest of her relatively short life cleaning up messes; her own, Elissa and Alister's, and the Grey Wardens'. While Anders in DA2 annoyed me most of the time, I realized that the Wardens really failed him. He did some stupid things, but the Wardens basically screwed him with his pants (if he wore pants) on. I think that there was a part of me that always felt that even though Anders deserved death, he also deserved love and acceptance from the Order who took him by Right of Conscription.

9:37

"Blondie.. " Varric covered his eyes with his hand, but it couldn't hide the devastation of the Chantry.

Hawke fumed. She paced back and forth, stopping occasionally as if to say something, but upon finding no words she continued her pacing. Varric shoved Fenris towards her. If anyone could calm down the very irate Hawke, it would be her lover. The problem was that Fenris was almost more angry with Anders than Hawke. Even Sebastian, the usually calm voice of the group, was beyond words.

"Hawke," Varric tried to get her to at least stop her pacing. "While standing around waiting for the Templars to come and check out the sudden loud noise and dust flying through the air, would probably prove to be interesting, we need to get out of here." He looked pointedly towards Anders.

The mage was sitting on a large piece of rubble, slumped over, whether from exhaustion or defeat it was not possible to determine.

When Varric heard the footsteps behind him, he held Bianca at the ready and turned to face the intruder. He had expected a Templar, even Meredith herself, but instead a stranger approached. She could have been Meredith in another life, but she was softer somehow. Her armor was black leather, embellished with a silverite griffon on the chest, and a grey cloak snapped in the breeze. The sight of her was certainly as foreboding as the sight of the Knight Commander. 

Isabella followed Varric's gaze and took in a sharp breath. "Brace yourselves, here comes the storm."

"Huh, Rivaini?"

"Remember when you once asked me if there was someone in Ferelden who I hadn't slept with?" Isabella nodded her head towards the approaching woman. "That's her."

Fenris and Sebastian barely managed to pull their attention away from Hawke, but once the two men had, their attention was riveted. Fenris growled at her as she walked passed him. She ignored him, just as she ignored the cross-bow trained on her.

Isabella started to open her mouth, but Aveline elbowed her in the ribs, "Shut up, Whore."

Catte froze mid-step and her head snapped around. She stared at Aveline who had the decency to blanch. "I meant her." Aveline pushed Isabella forward. "Not you."

Varric knew a story lurked behind Aveline and Isabella's actions. The two women were confident and self-assured, but seemed to falter under a look from the blonde woman. If their actions confused him, then Isabella's next words had him reconsidering his sanity.

"Vengeance is coming to collect her payment."

Merrill couldn't help herself, "Varric, what's.."

Both Isabella and Varric cut her off at the same time. 

"Later, Daisy" 

"Not now, Kitten."

Instinctively Varric stood in front of Merrill. He wasn't certain that Bianca would be able to take the woman down, but he couldn't let Merrill just be run over, which he was certain could happen.

The woman spared a look over the companions before turning her head back around and continuing on towards her goal. Varric had no idea who she was approaching, Hawke or Anders, and honestly couldn't rule out either. Isabella had dropped the fact that the woman was from Ferelden and since both had spent time in Ferelden it could have been either one. As soon as she passed Hawke, who had actually stopped pacing to watch the approaching woman, Varric released a breath he didn't know he had been holding and so did everyone else, except Merrill.

Merrill gasped when a breeze caused the cloak to flutter, "look, it's a griffon…"

Griffon, of course. Varric hit his forehead with the palm of his hand. She was a Warden. But she wasn't dressed like the Wardens he'd seen in Kirkwall. There was nothing blue or white on her armor and she didn't have a tabard, but she did have those griffons on her chest.

Catte knelt down in front of Anders. She placed her hands on his cheeks and pressed her forehead against his. Varric was gobsmacked. The woman who had glared down Aveline and Isabella, had caused his sphincter to clench in a fit of fear, had ignored the broody elf's growl, had been named Vengeance, was gone. And in her place was a woman showing Blondie tenderness and compassion.

"I'm so sorry, dearling, the Grey Wardens failed you. I failed you." She spoke to Anders as if she was speaking to a child. "I should have done more, I…"

Varric almost fell over. The woman was actually crying. 

"There's nothing you can say that I haven't already said to myself. I took a spirit into my soul and changed myself forever to achieve this. This is the justice all mages have awaited."

"No, dearling, this is vengeance, not justice. When I learned what happened to Justice, I should have intervened. When I learned that they brokered a deal with the Chantry, I should have stopped it."

"When we merged, he ceased to be. We are one now. I could no more ignore the injustice of the Circle than he could."

"Oh, sweet Anders, this is about so much more. The ones that you should have trusted, the ones that should have protected you, didn't. We are no longer vigilant in peace."

Sebastian stepped forward, about to speak up, but Hawke shook her head slowly. Varric could actually feel a headache coming on. He couldn't say for sure what was about to happen, but he knew better than to open his mouth. He just wished his friends had the same sense of self-preservation.

"I couldn't tell anyone else. They would have tried to stop me or even worse, what if they wanted to help? I couldn't let them do that."

"I would have helped you Anders. Not with your goal, but I would have helped you." She closed her eyes.

"But the world needs to see this, so we can all stop pretending that the Circle is a solution."

"Sweetling, that isn't for you to decide. You don't think I pushed at the Chantry? I nearly caused a diplomatic incident in Ferelden, and I didn't kill anyone. Gods, I don't think there's any way to recover from this, Anders."

"If I pay for this with my life, then I pay. Perhaps then Justice will be free."

"And I pay her price willingly." She whispered her last words to him and pressed her lips against his in a chaste kiss. No one saw the dagger in her right hand and they didn't see it slide between his ribs into his heart. She wrapped her arm around his shoulder and pulled him close to her, until his body went limp. She gently laid him down on the ground and slowly stood up. Taking a deep breath, she ran her hands over her hair, smoothing it down where it never needed smoothing.

Catte swallowed hard and turned around, back to the others. She walked up to Hawke and everyone tensed. Bianca was aimed at her and Varric stroke the trigger. Fenris already had his hand wrapped around the hilt of his sword, ready to pull it free. Sebastian had an arrow nocked, but hadn't yet drawn back. Aveline shifted her shield, and Isabella strummed the hilt of her daggers. The only two people not tense, not poised to strike, were Hawke and the Warden.

"You have my promise that I will keep your sister safe. For the time that I have left and after I will make arrangements for her continued protection." She looked back at Ander's lifeless body. "I will not allow the Grey Wardens to forsake their vows at the cost of another Warden."

Hawke nodded her head, but didn't speak. Varric saw the look of gratitude Hawke had on her face, he had a feeling that it had nothing to do with the words about Bethany. Instead, he thought it had to do with the Warden taking the decision away from her. The Warden alone would have to live with the burden that might have been Hawke's.

The Warden lifted her head and nodded behind the group and Varric cursed to himself. He had been so enthralled with the scene that had unfolded before him he hadn't been aware others had gathered behind him.

"It is done, Stroud. Take his body and honor him as a Grey Warden."

Stroud started to protest, but she cut him off, "But Warden Commander…"

Her face hardened, and the steely visage she had worn when they first saw her returned. "We failed him in life, we will not fail him in death."

She walked back towards the way she had first entered, stopping momentarily to look down at Varric. "I was not here."

Varric stifled a groan. Hawke might have been a legend, but this woman was something else entirely. The threads of the stories he could have woven were already running through his head. But she had taken Hawke's burden, and for that he would remain silent. He nodded his head slowly.

"Funny you should say that, because I was just talking to my friends here and none of us seem to remember what happened." He smiled at her, not really expecting a smile in return, but it just felt right.

She placed a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it gently. Varric would later swear that he felt sparks, but Aveline and Isabella promised him that The Warden Commander had no magic. "Be good to him in your tales, dwarf. He deserves that at least."

Varric just nodded while he blinked back the tears he felt forming in his eyes.

She continued on to the top of the stairs leading away from the Gallows and Varric wondered where the hell his brain had ran off to. A Templar was leaning against the wall. A Templar they all knew and either loved or hated, depending on the day, time, and lunar cycle – Cullen. He hadn't realized that he was moving closer towards them. Not that Varric would ever repeat what she said to him, but he wanted to hear it. Apparently, it was a Ferelden reunion in Kirkwall when a Chantry gets blown to bits.

He couldn't see her smile, but he decided it was there. "I always said that you were one of us. If you had been born earlier, I would have recruited you when I had my chance at a Templar. And when we had another opportunity, you were the right age, you were capable, we should have taken you, but had a vow to keep, and it wasn't to the Wardens. Perhaps…"

Cullen didn't respond, at least not that Varric could hear him, but he saw the Templar nod his head. Varric wasn't certain, but it sounded like her words were an apology. For what he had no idea and much to his chagrin, he didn't think he was ever going to find out.

They watched her walk down the stairs and out of sight. Stroud and another Warden came to claim Ander's body in silence and followed in her path. Cullen looked up at Hawke. He nodded his head once in salute and then turned and walked away. Once they were alone Varric managed to find his tongue again.

"Rivaini, you are telling me everything you know about that woman."


End file.
